Six excuses I tell myself to get out of learning to knit:
- It will give me carpel tunnel syndrome.
- I already crochet and suck at it. Do I really need one more thing to suck at?
- It will allow me to make custom sweaters for my cat. My cat already hates me and the last thing she needs is a legit excuse to get angry and pee on stuff.
- It will distract me from learning to hand quilt. And macramé. And install faucets.And other stuff.
- I will do it and I will get addicted and the yarn will suck all the moistness out of my hands and one day I will wake up and see a hand coming out of my sleeve and think OH CRAP, THE CRYPT KEEPER IS HERE!
- I can make other stuff with yarn. Like, this…
As I mentioned last week, I’m not big on knitting. And I don’t crochet much either. But for whatever reason I can’t help but stroll through the yarn aisle every time I go to a craft store. It calls my name. I can’t turn away. On rare, rare occasions, I let myself buy something too. This time it was red and pink and orange. It came home with me and said, GURL, you need to make something with me. What’s it going to be? – A scarf? – A hat? – Some badass granny square potholders?
I said, No Gurl, today we are making yarn hearts.
It doesn’t get much easier than this.
This is about the easiest, laziest, fool-proof project on the planet. In fact, I am ripping this idea off a daycare craft I made in 1983 (shout out to all my peoples at Palisades Preschool!) as Christmas ornaments using bits of acrylic scrap yarn and paste made from flour and water. They were supposed to be stars but came out looking like spaghetti – that’s the charm, right? Preschool art. It’s open for interpretation.
The only problem was that after the spaghetti stars dried and went home looking pretty, they fell apart and flopped over on the tree. I think the paste might have reconstituted when put in contact with the moist tree or something. That said, I am swapping out the old fashioned glue for Mod Podge – I trust it will last a long time. Did you see what it did to my Eastereggs? Twelve years and counting!
Note: Mix the glue solution in a disposable cup with a plastic fork, or similar.
Also note: Cotton yarn, or yarn that is at least partly made from natural fibers, will absorb the glue and work a little better for this project. Straight acrylic yarn works too but I find it does not stiffen quite as nice as the cotton stuff.
If you have never worked with Mod Podge before, don’t worry, it’s pretty much works the same as regular liquid white glue but it dries to a sort of plastic-like finish. I used gloss finish because that’s what I have on hand, but I would have probably used the matte finish if I had been working with a nice wooly yarn.
The heart on the far right was made with one yard of yarn and it dried in about 8 hours. The one in the middle was made with four yards of yarn and still has some damp spots after three days of drying! It also has some obvious looking glue flakes that don’t show up in these photos – meh, not a big deal, they are easy enough to rub off with my fingers, but I would urge you, if you are going to pile up the yarn thick and such, wring it out thoroughly before you shape it into a heart.
The Valentine tree is coming along bit-by-bit. I can’t wait to show you guys the finished result!
I love these! Will be making them with my preschoolers.
I saw your post via craft gawker.
Oh, Peaches! I can’t believe it…
I have JUST made these for my valentine’s swap cards, put them out to dry, and logged on here to find… this!
The only difference is that I used a cookie cutter to shape my hearts. Works nicely.
A cookie cutter is a great idea! I will have to try that for stars at Christmas! Thanks!
There now, THIS is what the leopard yarn was destined for. I knew you’d come up with something.
(Also, while it’s undeniable that knitting can be highly addictive, still it has to be pointed out that many other hobbies don’t travel nearly as well. It’s difficult to macrame and fix faucets and hand quilt and mod podge, well, anything, while stuck somewhere in public, say, the DMV for two hours because of ridiculously long lines, despite the fact that you went ungodly early on an off day when no one should have been there. [See also: doctor’s office, vet’s office, dentist’s office, optician, bank drive-through, waiting for your child/friend/significant other to try on clothes/shoes/jewelry/sunglasses, rush-hour traffic jams, riding public transportation, riding public transportation in rush-hour traffic jams]. And of course, then you earn a place in the exclusive ranks of People Who Knit In Public.)
Snicker at the shout out to the preschool. You are one funny lady and I love reading your posts! 🙂
ooooh I love this! yes, don’t learn to knit. I finally did about a month ago and it monopolizes all my time even though all I can make are scarves and ugly hats.
Ahhh – but knitting is cathartic – and is cheaper than any therapy you will find! I’m so doing this project with the girls – I think they will love it!
thank you!! we made these at my preschool this week and they were a big huge hit among the 3, 4 and 5 year olds. (http://kleas.typepad.com/kleas/2013/02/yarn-hearts.html)
If you decide to give (awesome, soothing, meditative) knitting another chance, use BAMBOO needles- they hold the yarn for you, so you can just concentrate on making the stitches. & btw, crocheting is harder than knitting!
i’m so happy to have found your blog! we’ve had a blizzard here this weekend and i’ve spent just about the whole weekend poking around, getting inspired, laughing, and crying. i’ve even emailed links to a few posts to my mum. so, thank you!
I just love them! Will try them to decorate my classroom for Valentine´s this year. Thanks!!
These are super duper fun! Yeah there are things that I just can’t do and I find other things to use pretty yarn on. I did want to knit stupid stuff for my animals as well and ahem one of them already pees on things sometimes so I don’t wanna tempt the other ones.
how many hearts can you make with one bottle of glue?
It depends on the size of the hearts and how absorbent the yarn is (natural fibers will absorb more). My guess is at least 30.
These turned out great. I have a 5 year old grandson with a very short attention span. A lot of crafts we do he starts and Nanna finishes. Well we made 6 hearts and he worked on them from start to finish. The only thing I did was squeeze out the glue from the yarn. We turned it into a mobile using 1/2 of an embroidery hoop I had in the closet. I have a 2 year old grandson also. Easter is right around the corner, so we’ll try doing eggs and maybe butterflies too. Thanks for the how-to.
Glad to hear it, Mary! Easter eggs are a great idea!